Two Applique Tutorials- Cheater’s Needle Turn & Fusible Applique

If you are just starting to sew or quilt you may cringe at the sound of the word “applique.”  I know I did when I first started about 3 years ago.  I would hear quilters saying things like, “I’ve been working on this applique quilt for over 5 years,” or “I love to take my applique blocks with me on long car trips.”  Neither of these comments made me want to research the art of applique.  A few years back I started making some Obama tote bags around election time in 2008 and I used the fusible web/raw edge technique of doing applique to recreate his logo, the words, and numbers.  It’s easy, quick and there is virtually no fuss.  Just trace your design, fuse it to your applique fabric, then peel off the paper and fuse it to your background fabric.  Can’t beat that! I’ve just posted a video tutorial showing how this raw edge/fusible applique technique is done.  This is an excellent skill to have because it can be used for just about any project.  It doesn’t have to be a quilt!  You can applique a child’s initials onto a backpack.  Or applique little motifs to their clothes.  Spruce up a plain baby onesie with a cute heart.  The ideas are endless.  One of my recent fusible applique projects is this yellow star I appliqued onto the super hero cape I made for my DS.

The second video tutorial is for an applique technique that some prefer because you get the same effect as needle-turn applique without all the work and hand stitching. I like to call this technique the “cheater’s” version of needle turn applique.  This is easy to do as well and you can use it just like you would the raw edge/fusible applique.  It’s just a slightly different way of doing it and the results don’t have exposed raw edges.

Over the next few days I will be uploading some FREE applique designs that I am creating just for you all!  They will be copyrighted but you can use them for personal use.  Meaning you can print them out and use them for whatever you are making for yourself or to give as a gift to someone else.  Please do not sell items you make with my copyrighted applique patterns.  If you are a member of a group that would like to use them for sales that will raise money for a charity please email me at: craftygemini{at}gmail{dot}com to inquire about expressed written permission for these purposes.  Please respect all the time and hard work that goes into making these free resources available to you.